


Those Left Behind

by orchardpotato



Category: Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020)
Genre: F/M, Post-Justice League Dark: Apokolips War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27223387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orchardpotato/pseuds/orchardpotato
Summary: A series of connected one-shots showing missing scenes and gaps during JLDAW.
Relationships: Raven/Damian Wayne
Kudos: 43





	Those Left Behind

**Author's Note:**

> When I first watched JLDAW I had so many questions and felt like there was so much information the writers should have included to the story. So I decided to try to fill in some of those gaps! One of the things I had a hard time believing was that Damian would leave Raven and not tell her where he was going or how to find him. This is my interpretation of how they separated. Enjoy!

“Raven, we need to leave. Now.” Damian’s voice was firm but gentle. Under other circumstances Raven would have noticed the uncharacteristic hint of panic that he was trying to mask as urgency. But she was too numb to take much notice of anything but the sight before her.

The bodies of her teammates – her _friends_ – lay bloody and broken on the pavement a few yards away from where she knelt. A few limbs had been torn and scattered about, some were missing completely, and Raven nearly vomited at the realization that those monsters had _eaten_ parts of her friends. She had seen Superboy escape, but aside from him, only she and Damian remained.

“We need to go to the League of Shadows. It will be safe there.” Damian’s voice was more certain than he felt. He supposed that Raven may sense that, but logically he knew that the compound was the smartest choice given the circumstances.

Damian touched her shoulder, allowing Raven to feel his emotions more clearly. Grief, anger, apprehension, and – affection?

“I’m not leaving without you.” He removed his mask to show his earnestness. “Please, Raven.” His words carried so much emotion it roused her a bit from her daze. Even without using her empathic powers she could detect the meaning behind them. Despite her pain, her heart fluttered.

_“You disgrace me, daughter.”_ The voice of her father echoed loudly in her head, but her face remained blank. She had grown used to hearing him berate her emotions, which he perceived to be one of her most egregious flaws. _“It sickens me that you attach yourself to such weak, insignificant creatures, but your feelings toward this boy are most abhorrent.”_

Raven winced at the spike of rage that accompanied her father’s words and clenched her fists against her forehead. She felt Damian react, squeezing her shoulder and crouching beside her to examine her. “Are you hurt?” She shook her head and turned away from him. In that moment she wanted nothing more than to fold herself inside his arms and sob, but the silent tirade of her father compelled her into remaining still.

_“I swear to you, girl, when I am free he will be the first one I kill, in the most agonizing way possible.”_ Tears formed in her tightly closed eyes. _“He makes you weak! Pathetic! And for that he will suffer greater than any of your friends and I will make you watch!”_

Raven indiscreetly wiped away the moisture from her eyes and turned to Damian. His face was level with hers, concern clearly marking his features. His free hand was clutching his abdomen and she saw that there was a deep puncture wound that was still bleeding. Fortunately, he had been struck at an odd angle and the thick armor in the vest of his uniform prevented the paradoom’s spike from fully penetrating his body like – like Nightwing. Still, she could see that he was seriously injured and sensed that he was only able to function due to high adrenaline. Raven wordlessly moved Damian’s hand away and before he could argue she mustered up the last bit of healing energy she had to reduce the wound to a shallow gash. Immediately, she felt drained and would have slumped to the ground if Damian wasn’t right there to catch her.

“You shouldn’t have done that. We need to move and you need your strength.” Despite his words, she could feel his gratitude. He helped her stand and looked at her expectantly.

“I – I can’t.” Raven finally spoke. Her throat was dry and her voice sounded like gravel. “I can’t leave them – like this.” Another wave of anguish flowed through her as the reality of her loss sunk in. She covered her face with her hands and let her tears fall freely. Damian moved to comfort her, but she flinched away. She felt his hurt and confusion, and she cried harder.

Damian shifted in uncertainty. He shared her reluctance to leave their teammates as they were, as if they did not deserve to be buried with honor. But that would take hours, leaving them open and vulnerable to attack. If the paradooms returned, they wouldn’t stand a chance against them. They just couldn’t risk it. “I’m sorry, but there’s no time.” He gently gripped her wrist and began walking toward the Tower.

Raven followed, tripping over the rubble and cracked asphalt. Her tears slowed as she tried to process what was happening. What had he said before? Something about the League of Shadows? Somewhere safe. A base, perhaps. She began to wonder where such a base could be, but stopped herself. It didn’t matter where they went, as long as they were together _he_ wouldn’t be safe. Raven had felt the mental bonds over her father loosen ever so slightly. The longer she expended her energy and allowed her emotions to flow unrestrained, the weaker she would be in resisting her father’s influence. She couldn’t go with Damian.

Damian felt Raven slow her pace and pull her wrist back, confusing him. Why was she trying to get away from him? Perhaps it was a trauma-related response to their current situation? No matter. He was clear-headed enough to act for both of them and right now they needed to get out of the open. He tightened his grip and walked her the rest of the way to the Tower. He led her just inside the doors and moved to a panel on the wall. Unfortunately, the power was out, which he expected. But the auxiliary reserve generators were dead as well. Dead, like his team, like Grayson. Damian shook his head. No time to think of that right now. He turned to Raven, who had stopped crying and was now staring blankly at the ground. “Stay here.”

Damian surveyed the area and, satisfied that there were no paradooms or other threats nearby, he quickly moved to a stretch of pavement on the side of the Tower. He used his sword to pry open the hatch to the underground parking garage where Nightwing stored his Batmobile (well, it technically wasn’t the Batmobile since Nightwing used it exclusively…not anymore though). Damian jumped in and operated the controls, letting out a sigh of relief when the ignition started and the dashboard indicated that the fuel cells were fully charged.

Damian exited the vehicle and hesitated. He had been formulating his escape plan – God, he hated to admit that that was what he was doing – escaping, retreating – because that meant that he had failed, _again_. His end goal was his grandfather’s compound in the Himalayas, the safest place he knew, assuming that his father was…not coming back. And the location of a Lazarus pit. Damian knew the risks of the life-restoring waters. But he lost so many. If there was a chance to save any of his teammates…

He made his way back to Raven and found her in the exact position that he had left her. He knew that she would object to trying to resurrect any of them. He had told her the stories of the possible side effects, how some end up permanently insane. Despite his composure, Damian was feeling a range of intense emotions and the thought of getting some of his friends back – of getting Grayson back – was too tempting. He was willing to take the risk.

“Raven,” he said softly. She stirred and looked at him, her expression blank. “I need your help.” She nodded slowly, her eyes somewhat unfocused, and followed him back outside, back to where the remains of their team lay. Damian moved toward Nightwing and lifted his lifeless body. He could support the weight, but it would be faster to move him if Raven assisted.

Damian’s actions seemed to snap her out of her grief-stricken daze. “What are you doing?” Damian paused, but did not lower Nightwing’s body.

“I’m… taking him with me.” He averted his gaze, not wanting to see the disapproving look he expected. Raven frowned, confused, until she remembered where he said he intended to go. One of the most salient pieces of information she had learned from him about the League of Shadows was their possession of a life-restoring pool – a Lazarus pit, as he called it. She also recalled his unsettling stories of people driven mad after using it.

“No! Damian, you can’t. I want him back, all of them back as much as you, but you can’t take him to the pit. I can’t imagine the kind of damage to his psyche after experiencing such a horrible… such an ordeal.” Raven choked back a sob. She couldn’t say the words yet. She gave herself a mental shake to show her adamance and prevent herself from breaking down again. This was too important.

“Promise me you won’t.”

Damian was also swallowing down his grief. Grayson was family, his brother. In some ways they were closer than he was to his father and resigning to the likelihood that they were both lost to him was near impossible. Still, he knew Raven was right. The type of life Grayson would be restored to would not be a life at all.

“Alright. I promise, I won’t take him to the pit. But I’m still taking him. He deserves a warrior’s burial.”

Raven felt a small bubble of doubt but nodded. She muttered her mantra and engulfed her leader in her dark energy. She walked with Damian back to the Batmobile, keeping Nightwing’s body floating behind them. She didn’t want to look at him more than she needed to, it was too painful.

They stepped down into the garage and Raven gently lowered Nightwing into the vehicle behind the front seats. She spotted an emergency blanket in a side compartment and used her powers to unfold it and cover the body. When she was done, she quickly floated up and out of the garage, to Damian’s confusion.

“Where are you going? We need to leave. We’ve already delayed longer than we should have.” He began to feel frustrated and a slight sharpness unintentionally slipped into his tone.

Raven averted her gaze, moving further away from him. “I can’t go with you.”

Now Damian did not hold back his frustration. “Why not?”

Raven felt a rush of guilt and sorrow, her heart aching. In response, Trigon’s voice suddenly rose up again and she took another step back. _“He is a loathsome, insufferable whelp. I will rip him open from the inside!”_

“I just can’t.” She looked over her shoulder. “I can’t leave them this, for more paradooms to come and – I need to bury them.” She looked back at him and her voice was almost inaudible. “They are my friends.”

Damian frowned. “They were my friends too, but we’re too exposed here and can’t take the risk.” Why was she behaving this way? Raven was always one of the most level-headed people he knew. Didn’t she understand that every second they stayed decreased their chances at survival? Normally, Damian would not waste his time arguing with someone who was too stubborn to see reason, but this was Raven. He could not concede so easily when she was being so uncharacteristically irrational. “Come with me to the League. I want you by my side.” He hoped that the meaning behind his words was clear.

Raven felt his emotions rolling off of him and suppressed her body’s impulse to tremble. “I don’t want to be a part of the League. I – I don’t want to go with you.” She looked him directly in the eye to try to make her lie more convincing. “I can take care of myself. Please, Damian, just please go.”

Damian felt his chest tighten. So that was the reason. She did not want to be with him. He was highly skilled in many things, but understanding others’ emotions was an area in which he had always been lacking. His speculations about her returning his feelings had been wrong. There was no use in trying to convince her if that was the case. He briefly considered giving her the location of the compound on the chance that she changed her mind about joining him, even if merely for safety, then promptly quelled the thought. If she were to be captured – the thought made his stomach lurch – she could be compelled into revealing the location.

Raven kept her face expressionless as she felt his jumble of emotions – he teetered between feeling hurt, embarrassed, disappointed, conflicted. She despaired at the knowledge that she was the cause of his pain. But the pain would persist if he knew that she parted from him to protect him while returning his feelings, whereas the pain of rejection would fade eventually.

Damian climbed into the driver seat. Just before he lowered the hatch, Raven floated down and embraced him. They held each other tightly for almost a minute, neither wanting to let go. When Raven started to pull back, Damian gripped her shoulders to look at her. He searched her face for any sign of hesitation about her decision, but she remained stoic. He dropped his arms and she separated herself from him completely. She dropped her gaze and whispered, “Stay safe.” Fearing that he would continue to plead with her to come with him if he spoke again, he responded with a mere nod and closed the compartment to his vehicle. As he drove away, he watched her in the rearview camera on the dashboard, standing motionless and staring in his direction.

Raven remained composed until his car disappeared from her view. When she was certain he was no longer able to see her, she fell to her knees, slumped into child’s pose, and sobbed. Everyone she knew, everyone she had ever loved, was gone now.

_“Now it is just you and me, daughter.”_ Her father’s laughter rang in her ears. _“Together, always.”_

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to note that I know it's sometimes confusing when stories constantly switch between characters' POV. But I felt that it was important to get both of their perspectives about what was happening and how they were feeling. I tried my best to make it clear when switching back and forth between them, so I hope that it wasn't too bad in that aspect! I welcome any and all feedback!


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